Max Verstappen Regrets Losing Honda to Aston Martin With a Diplomatic PR Message for Red Bull’s Ford Dynamic: “It’s a Shame”

There aren’t many things in the current season that would disappoint Max Verstappen. The Dutchman is on top of the world as he looks set to secure another championship title. However, despite this current ideal scenario, there is one future aspect that is not to Verstappen’s liking. We are talking about a partnership between Red Bull’s old engine suppliers Honda and Aston Martin’s partnership from 2026 onwards. The Silverstone-based outfit ruled the headlines with this partnership announcement, much to everyone’s surprise. However, it was Red Bull’s champion who was shocked the most.

Honda broke ties with Red Bull when it announced its desire to discontinue its involvement with F1 to adhere to its sustainability goals. However, with F1 also taking active steps to reduce its carbon footprint with the 2026 regulations, Honda has agreed to become a part of the sport by joining hands with Aston Martin, despite the history with Fernando Alonso. This scenario upset Verstappen, which he revealed to the media including Total Motorsport.

“From our side, it’s a bit unfortunate how that all turned out,” Verstappen told the press. “A few years ago they said they were going to stop so then Red Bull set up its whole engine division and now they come back. It’s a shame really. We’ve always had and still have a good relationship so seeing them go to Aston Martin was a shame but at the same time we are very excited on our side from 2026 onwards with Ford.”

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The Dutchman is obviously disappointed to not continue his relationship with the Japanese company dispute getting new American partners on board for the 2026 season. However, this sympathy toward the old partner could be stemming from Ford’s previous experience in the sport.

Max Verstappen could be concerned about Red Bull’s partnership with Ford because of past instances

Ford has a rich Formula 1 history and won’t become a part of the premier class for the first time in the company’s career. However, their most recent outing in the sport would not spark confidence in anyone. Some of Verstappen’s disappointment of losing Honda to Aston Martin could be stemming from that. Let us explain ourselves further with the help of narration from Johnny Herbert.

Herbert revealed, “The team was taken over by Ford and badged as Jaguar – all of Jackie’s way of running things was gone, switched off like a light. In charge was a Ford company man from Detroit called Neil Ressler, who had no understanding of how racing worked. He’d call a meeting of 30 team people and say, ‘If you guys won’t do this the Ford way, we’ll get some guys who will.”

WATCH THIS STORY: Why Ford’s Jaguar F1 Team Was a Total Failure Before Becoming Red Bull? 

Could this be the reason for Verstappen’s disappointment? Or did he want to stick with his old partners with whom he made history? We might never get to know answers to these questions, at least not from Verstappen’s mouth because of the damage his honest comments might do. However, we, as fans, are free to speculate.